Chapter 19
The Will
Ava followed Noah to the car, sliding into the passenger seat with their food instead of offering to drive. She smiled, thinking of the whoopie pie waiting for her.
“Do you know what's going on at the Agatha building?” Noah asked.
She looked out the window at the construction happening. Her chest tightened each time she considered how someone else bought the building. “No clue. I asked Owen, but he didn't seem to know either. Just said someone bought it.”
“Weren't you interested in turning it into a bed-and-breakfast years ago?”
Ava swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat. Of course, Noah would remember her dream about the bed-and-breakfast with Owen. “I was. It's why I got intohospitality.” Ava stared out the window, not daring to look at Noah.
“Are you still liking it? You’ve got this big opportunity you’re being considered for, right?”
The brick buildings and brightly colored awnings that dotted the small downtown road gave way to the woods as they drove toward the cabin, and Ava considered the question. She loved working in hospitality, and she’d worked hard to get as high up as she was. And despite that, a jolt of surprise went through her when she realized she hadn’t worked on her presentation for the board position in a week. Morgan had even put together a presentation template that adhered to the hotel’s branding.
“I love what I do. It keeps me busy, and no two days are the same. But even in my position, I have little say in how the hotel operates. I mostly make what the Board of Directors want into reality, and it’s not always keeping up with hospitality trends. That’s why I want this appointment on the board. I could change things, you know? And it might be the closest I’ll get to running my own place.”
Ava continued staring out the window, marking their progress to the cabin. It had always been easy to talk to Noah. He listened without judgement, unlike Lucas, who constantly had an opinion and wasn’t nice about sharing it.
“I get that. I like what I do. Taking different contracts for sustainability projects. Each one’s a new challenge to solve. But most of the time I’m providing short-term fixes for systemic problems. Companies don’t want to put the full time and money toward these problems that they actually require.” Noah paused.
They turned onto the winding path that turned into the gravel driveway of the cabin. “Dad loved his work,” he added, pulling to a stop.
She shifted to look at Noah. His hands still gripped the steering wheel, his shoulders hunched.
“Yeah, he did. I haven’t been able to go into his office yet. Reminds me too much of him.” She gave him a sad smile.
He returned with a small smile of his own, his shoulders dropping a fraction at her admission.
“Did you know Dad was also teaching at the high school?” she asked him. The question had weighed on her mind since her visit to the Baptist church thrift store.
Noah's brows furrowed. “No, this is the first I'm hearing of it.” He shrugged, releasing his grip on the steering wheel. “We should get inside and see what Lucas found.”
They got out of the car, and Ava trailed behind Noah, bringing their uneaten lunch inside and putting it in the refrigerator. She pushed away the shiver that came over her when she recalled how Owen had caged her in the same spot the evening before.
“In here,” Lucas called from the direction of the office.
Ava steeled herself to enter the one room she'd avoided for weeks. The door was open, revealing her dad's old oak desk littered with papers and books. Lucas sat in the wingback chair behind it, a pair of reading glasses perched atop his head. Noah circled the desk and leaned a hip against the side. Ava stopped in the doorway. A heavy weight settled in her chest, preventing her from going inside. She leaned a shoulder against the doorframe and crossed her arms, watching them from the entrance.
“What'd you find?” Noah broke the silence in the room.
Lucas exhaled a heavy sigh, seeming older than his thirty-two years. He rapped his knuckles on a folder in front of him. “I've got good and bad news. I went through dad's files and managed to log into his laptop to confirm what I found in his accounts. Bad news: dad had debt. A lot of high interest debt.”
“Shit,” Noah said.
“How much debt are we talking about?” Ava asked. Her dad had never mentioned having financial issues.
“Enough that he took out a second mortgage to pay it down. But didn't have enough equity to cover the full amount. Dad died with two mortgages and a high-interest loan he was paying off.”
Noah gave a low whistle. “And what's the good news?”
Lucas opened the folder and pulled out a sheet of paper on top. “Despite his poor financial choices, he did one thing right and had life insurance.”
“Okay,” Ava dragged out the word, thinking through what it all meant. “How much is the life insurance amount? Can we use it to cover the debt and maybe keep the cabin?”
Her brothers turned to look at her. Noah's expression softened, his lips tipping up in a small smile. Lucas scowled.
